STEM at KOG

During the falls of 2014 and 2015, high school students in Room #131 (Jenny Baylor’s classroom) at the Kevin O’Grady School worked hard creating tactile plans, exploring materials and using tools to build their adaptive equipment for use in the classroom.

Students measured, sawed and sanded wood while building two sensory boards, which they covered with a variety of their preferred sensory materials for leisure time exploration (crinkly mylar, textured sponges, curly ribbon, squishy and bumpy objects).

Students measured, sawed, sanded and hammered to construct two wooden resonance boards, which allow us to feel music, rhythm and vibration!

Students measured, hammered, drilled and added screws to build a sensory frame made of PVC pipe. This sensory frame is used for leisure time exploration, as well as to suspend objects, tools and materials needed for our classroom lessons and activities. It allows students to explore, participate and communicate while in a variety of therapeutic positions.

During all of our planning, construction and sensory exploration activities, students participated as actively and independently as possible, while working on the goals and objectives in their own Individualized Education Plans. Some students completed requirements for MCAS-Alternate Assessment during these activities.

The students and staff of Room 131 would like to thank Monique Bourgault for all the help and guidance she gave us with our construction projects. It was fun having her come into our classroom as a guest teacher. This unit would not have been possible without you, Monique. Thank you!

If you’re interested in seeing more photos of our students at work in Science and Technology-Engineering, please check out the photo album shared on the Northshore Education Consortium’s Facebook page. Please LIKE us!